I've been saying all along that working our collective asses off to put the GOP in charge of Congress would make no real difference given the RINO infestation.
Looks like I'm not the only one.
July 24, 2015, 10:20 am
Looks like I'm not the only one.
Cruz accuses McConnell of lying
Sen.
Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a blistering floor speech Friday accused Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) of lying to him over a deal to
vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.
"Today
is a sad day for this institution," said Cruz, who is running for
president. "What we just witnessed this morning is profoundly
disappointing."
The
Texas Republican's remarks come after McConnell set up a procedural
vote on Sunday to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which saw its
charter expire last month. Democrats have said McConnell agreed to allow
a vote on attaching Ex-Im to "must-pass" legislation to win support
from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) for a trade package earlier this
year.
On the floor, Cruz said McConnell in a private conversation denied to him that there was such a deal.
"The
majority leader was visibly angry with me that I would ask him such a
question," Cruz said. "The majority looked at me and said 'there is no
deal, there is no deal, there is no deal.'"
The
Texas Republican said his staff at the time told him that McConnell is
"lying to you," but Cruz suggested that he took the Republican leader at
his word.
"What I told my staff that afternoon, I
said, well I don't know if that's the case or not. But I don't see how
when the majority leader looks me in the eyes and makes an explicit
promise," he added. "I don't see how I cannot take him at his word."
Cruz later said that McConnell's move to allow the Ex-Im vote shows that he does not always mean what he says.
"Well,
we now know that when the majority leader looks us in the eyes and
makes an explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he
knows are false," the Texas Republican added, arguing it could have
ramifications down the road.
"That has
consequences for how this body operates," he said. "If you or I cannot
trust what the majority leader tells us, that will have consequences on
other legislation, as well as on how this institution operates."
Cruz
also ripped McConnell for using a procedural maneuver to prevent other
amendments from being offered to the highway bill. That's the vehicle
that will be used for the Ex-Im vote.
Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) frequently "filled the tree" to
prevent amendments when Democrats had a Senate majority. It was a tactic
that McConnell and other Republicans criticized.
In
addition to the Ex-Im vote, McConnell also set up a vote on repealing
ObamaCare. That move was seen as an appeasement to conservatives upset
over Ex-Im, but the vote is likely to fail and it did not calm Cruz.
"I
agree with Senator Reid when he said the ObamaCare amendment is a
cynical amendment. Of course it is. It is empty showmanship," he added.
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